My Own Love Story?
by Kyranoel
Summary: Katniss Mellark is the baker's daughter. When the time rolls around for her to take her shift alone with her dad, she rushes to be there, even if it means being early. But she accidentally hears her dad talking to Peeta Everdeen, a miner's son, about the support of a relationship, she begins to wonder what this is about.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so I decided that I didnt like my other story and i have an idea for an AU so I wanted to try it out.**

**BTW, i do not own the hunger games, I am not nearly as talented as Suzanne Collins.**

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**Katniss' POV**

I raced down the steps and into the family business, letting the delectable scents fill my nose. Looks like Dad is here early today. I tie the strings of my Mellark's Bakery apron around my neck, preparing for the early shift. I worked this time slot every weekend. It was my favorite time of the week, spending time baking and goofing around. Okay, so maybe I was a Daddy's girl but my mom gets enough kissing up from my two older brothers, so I get to be my Daddy's little princess. I will happily do anything he asks, and he will do the same for me. It's like our silent agreement.

As the faint glow of the ovens come into view, I hear chatter coming from the cash register. Thats weird. No one ever comes in this early. I can clearly hear my dad's charming voice, mixed with a familiar, yet unusual one. I am typically not an eaves'-dropper, but I can't help but listen to this conversation.

"... as long as you can get up the courage to ask, I would fully support your relationship," my dad says. Relationship? What relationship? I would say it may be one of my brothers, but the voice before his is definitely not theirs.

"Thank you, Mr. Mellark, I will be back soon with some squirrels!" the other responds excitedly. Squirrels? Now that I think about it, I _can_ identify the voice. Peeta Everdeen. Son of Lila and Jonathan Everdeen. I always loved a good love story. My parent's was simple. Boy sees girl. Boy asks girl out. Boy and girl fall in love. Boy and girl get married. Simple. Ordinary. I guess that you could say I clung to these stories because I never had my own love story.

I don't really date. It's not that I haven't had any offers, because i surely had my fair share of them, but I just never felt a connection with any of them, so I didn't even bother. My mom read about princes and princesses falling in love after talking or dancing. I had only felt that with one person, but I know it wouldn't happen so I just wait, silently praying that one day he would notice me. Hoping I would get my perfect life from this one person. This seems so impossible, I know. But I feel like it may happen one day.

I always thought the Everdeen story was absolutely beautiful. Lila Animus was the daughter of two doctors. Her parents were rich. Jonathan Everdeen came from a poor household with a miner as a father and a stay-at-home-mom. One day, Lila stumbles upon Jonathan while deep in thought, singing to himself. She immediately falls in love with his voice. He quickly falls head-over-heels for her. The only problem is that Mr. and Mrs. Animus were not too happy with the fact that their perfect little daughter had fallen in love with a miner's son, who would eventually become a miner himself. Oh, but that didn't stop them. The next day the couple had gotten married. From that day on, Lila refused to talk to her parents. Even after they had repeatedly apologized for their actions, she could not accept they fact that she found her happily ever after.

Mr. Everdeen is a kind man. He occasionally brings meat that he hunts in to trade with my father. he always takes the time to ask me how I am, after 16 years of living on this planet. He likes to crack jokes. He has a son, Peeta. Peeta just so happens to be my age and the sweetest guy on earth, right next to his father. We don't talk often, only saying hi in the halls of high school(which just ended for summer break) of when he trades to help his father in a time of extreme business or when he becomes ill (which is exceptionally rare).

Back to the real world. What kind of relationship is he talking about?With my father of all people? I understand that my dad is one of the easiest people to open up to but I just can't help but wonder about the topic of their conversation. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to come down here early. Oh well, its done. Maybe I'll ask him about it later.

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**Like or hate? Please let me know. I really want to hear frome you. Just to be clear, Katniss is a lot more open about love in this story because she hasn't seen what death does to it. In the books, she does't want to fall in love for two reasons:**

**a) She saw what happened to her mother after her father died. She didn't want to wind up like that, ignoring out her family and children.**

**and b) she didn't want to have kids due to the horrendous things the capitol did to them in the Hunger Games and the starvation they would face, much like the kind she experiences regularly.**

**There are NO Games in this series.**

**Thank you so much for reading. Please give me some advice on how to improve. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much for the encouragement. Hope I don't disappoint.**

**:)**

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Peeta's POV

Today is the day. I am finally gonna do it. i am finally gonna talk to my parents about Katniss.

For about 11 years now, I have had a major crush on the baker's daughter. Every time I see her I just want to reach out and touch her beautiful hair. I have a feeling that my dad can help me out. My best friend says that I am crazy for liking her. that if i ever ask her out her out she will turn me down and I will be heartbroken. Even though this may be extremely and eerily accurate, I can't help but dream. I am hoping that since my dad was once in this position and actually got the girl, that he will have some good advice.

When I reach the threshold of the kitchen, I can see that he is already up making breakfast for me and my sister, Prim. Although it is really early and we are off of school for the summer, he is off from the mines for the weekend, my mom is already at the hospital (she is a nurse, she is not in the hospital from illness, thankfully), the two of us rise with the sun.

As if he can sense my presence, he turn around with a warm smile on his face.

"Morning, son," he greets with not a drop of exhaustion in his voice.

"Morning dad! Can I ask you your opinion on something? Please, it's really important?"My voice quivers with nerves.

"What's important? Ohhh, pancakes!" My 13- year-old- sister says as she waltzes into the kitchen. I guess I could use a girls point of view on my situation.

"Okay so for a long, long time I have been meaning to tell you that I have a huge crush on a girl."

"Well, son, that is nothing to be nervous about. You should go and ask her out then. Any girl would be lucky to have you!"

"Yeah, Peetie! Just be a gentleman and she will be head-over-heels for you in no time." The wise teenager squeaks from behind me.

"If only that was the truth. The thing is, this is not just any girl, she is Katniss Mellark. I have had a MAJOR CRUSH on her since I was 5. She is a merchant, I am just worried that a) she will turn me down flat or b) her parents will not approve of us. I don't want to be the cause of family problems."

"Prim, go wait in your room while I talk to your brother." My father tenderly commands then turns to be once she reaches her bedroom. "Peeta, if you are worried about that, go and talk to mr. Mellark. He will defiantly appreciate it and it will give you the piece of mind. The hard part is gathering up the nerve to actually ask, plan, and go on the real date. If family matters is the biggest of your worries, you are one lucky man. How about I go hunting today and you go talk to Mr. Mellark. I will give you the squirrels to deliver if you want so you can have some extra time to convince him if you want. Just be yourself, then everything will work out."

It turned out that that was the only words my mind was able to form as I waled across town to the bakery. _Just Be yourself. Just be yourself._

So that is exactly what I did. I rushed up the steps of the Mellark Bakery and heard the bell jingle in response. Its now or never. A few seconds later, a curious Mr. Mellark came from the back room. "Oh, hi, Peeta. What can I do for you?"

"Well, sir, I really ... uh, need to , uhh... talk to you?" I replied shakily. So much for courage.

"Absolutely, how can I help you?"

"Sir, I really like your daughter. I have ever since I was 5 years old. The thing is, I have been too afraid of asking her out in fear of rejection. You see, due to our social... statuses, we would not exactly be the most supported couple. I just want to ask her out on a date without having a repeat of my father's love story. I really want to call her mine, but I can't do that without your approval. I understand if you think this is a bad idea or you want to talk to your wife first or whatever it is you need to do, but i just wanted to get it out." After that, I took a huge breath and held it. I thought this would prepare me for the utter disappointment that was certainly coming, but all I heard was silence. Silence. More silence. I cracked my eye open just a touch to see that Mr. Mellark had a huge smile on his face. What?

"I have never been a huge fan of letting my daughter date anyone. I'm sure that you will understand that someday too, but, as long as you can get up the courage to ask, I would fully support your relationship!" he said with one of the largest smiles I have ever seen. I'm almost positive that my reaction is just about as big as his. HE SAID YES!

"Thank you, Mr. Mellark, I will be back soon with some squirrels!" I say. This has got to be one of the best days of my life.

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About 1 hour after the amazing start to my morning, I am heading out into the woods surrounding the fence of our little town called the Seam. It used to be illegal to hunt but they revoked it when they saw how many people went anyway. Now, its pretty much just me and my best friend's family, the Hawthornes. When I reach our usual meeting place, I see that he is not here , before he even has the slightest chance of catching me, I do my happy dance that I have been wanting to do since I stepped foot outside the bakery.

Of course, Gale being Gale, winds up finding me and decides that it would be super fun to make fun of me while I am checking the snares. Thankfully, I know a great way to bug him right back.

"So, Gale, have you seen the mayor's daughter recently? What is her name? Madge? She has been looking really pretty recently. Not as pretty as Katniss of course, but a close second. I think I might her out if she says no," I say with a devious smile on my face. Gale has always been hopelessly in love with Madge Undersee, similar to the way I am with Katniss. Lucky for us (note my amazing sarcasm), they are best friends and are never alone. They are always together so it is either both of us be brave or neither of us are. Usually, it is the second option. Maybe someday that will change, someday real soon.

"Keep your paws off, Everdeen!"

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** Kinda a cliffhanger?**

**Next chapter will be in Gale's point of view and then maybe Madge. I'm not a hundred percent sure. Hope you guys liked it. **

**Please follow, favorite, or review. Or all three. Or two. Or whatever you can. Thank you so much!**

**If you have any requests for story lines or characters, please feel free to PM me or write them in your comments.**

**P.S.: so sorry its late but, better late then never?**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, I'm back. so I think I mighty post a poll on my profile about which povs I should be doing. I can't wait to see the response to this chapter. This leads to the romance between Katniss and Peeta so be on the lookout for little hints. Please review, they help me out so much and it can help you put in elements of your own. As much as i want to, I can't read your minds. **

**Thank you for reading! :)**

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**Katniss POV**

I walk into the back of the bakery to see my father kneading whole grain dough, as usual. He knows how much I love to make sweets so he is the one who does all the bread. Well, him and my brothers.

For a teenage girl with two annoying siblings, we get along really well. They are so sweet when it comes to me, its like I really am a princess. Anyway, I decided that right after Peeta left, I would ask my dad about it. If it were really a big deal he would tell me that it's not for me to know and I would back down. But I it was nothing, he would tell me in a heartbeat… Right?

"Morning, Daddy!" I say as I prance into the kitchen. He seems to be in a good mood (even though it is a rare occurrence that he is no in one).

"Good morning sweetheart. I baked some sugar cookies already so, if you wouldn't mind, could you frost them for me?"

"Sure dad. Hey, I heard you talking to someone this morning. What was that about?" He seems to tense at my question but does answer with a short response.

"Just checking on trading arrangements. No big deal," He says with a certain edge of doubt to his voice. Huh, must be something he really doesn't want to know if he won't tell me.

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About an hour later, I see a blonde head admiring my frosting work while her older brother is chatting with my father. I have wanted to do a little trading of my own with her but I haven't been quick enough to talk to her before she is being dragged away by her brother.

"Hey, Prim, can I talk to you? I think I can make you an offer you can't refuse," I ask before Peeta can rush her out.

"Umm, okay?" she responds with a curious look.

"I wanted to ask you, would you like to learn how to decorate a cake like that? I would be willing to trade an hour of lessons (which are not really offered by us, but she doesn't need to know that) for a ½ pound of your goat cheese per week? I have wanted to perfect my recipe for cheese buns as a surprise for my dad, but I haven't found the right cheese yet. I think yours will be just right for them. What do you say? I'll even walk you to the bakery after school and then walk you home. I can talk to your parents if you want," I say before anyone can interrupt.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes, a million times YES!'' she screams with all of the enthusiasm she can muster. Her skeptical teenage companion looks over and stops in the middle of his sentence when he sees me as the cause of his sister's excitement. Okaaaaaaay. I've always loved Prim. She seems so sweet and optimistic that you just can't help but love her. She may be thirteen but she has the lightness and charisma of a 6 year old. I always catch her looking at my pastries and cakes. I have always been looking for an excuse to teach her but haven't come up with a good enough reason until now. I actually HAVE been trying to find the perfect cheese for my cheese buns. And I know that she has a goat and makes cheese with the milk. Plus, I think the saltiness of it all will balance well with the yeastiness of the bread.

"Great. Oh, here have your parents call me so we can set it up, okay? See you soon. I think your brother is about ready to get out of here," I say with about as much enthusiasm as she has. With a quick wave, her small frame takes off next her the blonde- haired, blue- eyed counterpart.


End file.
